How Did it Come to This?
by Biscuit15
Summary: As a baby, Itachi was raised by Madara and Izuna, not knowing he had a brother. When Madara and Izuna bring a traumatised Sasuke home after many years, will the younger Uchiha ever trust him?
1. Chapter 1

"Uncle!" Itachi beamed at the sight of his beloved Uncle Madara at breakfast that morning, his ten-year-old mind unable to comprehend the depressed expression on the older man's face. "Uncle, I slept well last night for once!"

Madara glanced up from his coffee, his onyx eyes locking onto his nephew. His eyes were shallow and looked lost, and his hand was shaking – something that Itachi failed to notice.

"That's good…" Madara said softly, scanning his young nephew's form.

"Where's Uncle Izuna?" Itachi asked, sitting down beside Madara and pulling his plate of pancakes close to him. "He promised he would take me shopping today."

Madara sighed and gripped his cup tightly. "Itachi, that won't be happening…"

Itachi frowned at his uncle's words. "Why…?"

"…" Madara sighed. "…Itachi… I'm sorry, but… Your parents died last night…"

"…Oh…" Itachi looked down at his plate, his dark eyes dimming. "Oh…"

"I know that you weren't particularly close to your parents, Itachi, but…" Madara continued on, wishing with all his being that Izuna was still at the house to help out with the situation – but of course, the younger Uchiha was god-knows-wheretrying to track down the whereabouts of their youngest nephew, Sasuke. "…Maybe it's time to tell you something, Itachi…"

"Tell me what…?" Itachi reached out and grabbed his uncle's hand, suddenly afraid of where this conversation was going.

"…Itachi… You wouldn't know this, but… you have a brother…"

Itachi gasped. "I… Brother…?"

Madara nodded. "Yes… A little brother… His name is Sasuke."

"…So…" Itachi gulped, looking everywhere. "…Why have I never been told about him…?"

"…It's very complicated, Itachi…"

"What is happening with him now…? With… our parents…?"

"…" Madara looked away, tearing up. "…Itachi… your parents were murdered… and Sasuke was kidnapped… Izuna is out looking for him, but… We honestly don't know if you will ever get to meet him or not… I am so sorry, Itachi…"

"…" Itachi glared down angrily at the floor, not sure what to do. Without warning, he stood up and pushed his plate away roughly. "I'm going to my room…! I don't want to see you…! Why would you keep something like this from me?"

"It was your parents' idea…" Madara said softly. "…We honestly wanted to tell you… But we couldn't… I'm just so sorry… I never wanted this to happen…"

Itachi looked up at met his uncle's gaze, his eyes burning with anger. "I. Hate. You."

Madara hid his eyes behind his hand, crying as he watched his nephew storm away. He knew that it was their fault, but there was nothing that he could do – why was nothing going right these days?


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N There is a pretty big time-skip in this chapter because it was being such a bitch to write (and personally, I don't know how I feel about this chapter) and after discussing it with my friend, she said that I might as well do the time-skip so I'm not just plot-padding. So, my friends – enjoy! **

The next day had arrived, and Itachi was still angry with Madara. He hadn't even spoken a word to Izuna, who had done nothing but try and make the moping boy smile when Madara had given up.

Itachi didn't know what they expected from him – he knew that Madara would be furious beyond belief if Izuna had been kept a secret from him. He also knew that he was hurting himself along with his uncles, but he didn't care – he couldn't believe that something this big had been kept from him.

Everyone knew that Itachi was a lonely kid always wondering why he was different from others. A friend or two would've been good for Itachi, and it broke both Madara and Izuna's hearts to have to keep Itachi lonely by hiding the one thing he had always wanted – a brother.

If it were up to Madara, he would've brought Itachi over to his sister's house already and introduced him to his brother – but for some reason, he and Izuna weren't welcome at Fugaku's home. Even when he had tried to explain that Itachi was lonely and needed someone, no one would listen to him.

Right now, nothing else mattered to the two older Uchiha other than finding Sasuke and making it up to Itachi – but they knew that it wouldn't be easy.

"Hey, Itachi-kun…" Madara sat down next to his nephew on the couch, trying his best to get through to the young boy. "Yesterday was pretty confusing, wasn't it?"

Itachi just ignored his uncle and instead focused on the television. As angry as he was feeling, it wasn't noticeable unless you knew what to look for – though he kept his face impassive and his emotions under control, his hands kept clenching and his fingers curling.

Madara didn't give up. "I know that you must be extremely upset with us for hiding this, but you have to understand that it wasn't our choice… We wanted to tell you, but if we did, your parents would have taken you away from us… We could not live if that happened… We love you so much…"

"…"

"…I suppose I can understand why you're so angry… All you want is a friend… And then finding out that you could've had someone all along… Itachi-kun, I just can't understand how you're feeling…"

"You've got Izuna," Itachi muttered, "You've always had him. I've only ever had you two. I don't… even understand why I couldn't live with my parents… Why am I so disliked…?"

"Itachi, it's not that your parents didn't want you… It's…" Madara bit his lip. He honestly didn't know why Itachi was given to them in the first place. "…Well, I don't know how to explain it, but… Izuna and I love you like you're our own…"

"It's not enough…" Itachi whispered. Madara was sure that if it weren't Itachi sitting before him, any other child would be crying already.

Madara sighed and pulled Itachi into a tight hold. He rubbed the boy's back. "Shh…"

"Just leave me alone…" Itachi muttered, pulling away from Madara's affections. "I just want to be alone…"

Madara sighed, but nodded. He knew that he couldn't push Itachi. He watched as the boy climbed off the couch and disappeared around the corner of the living room. He couldn't help the tears that dripped down his cheeks.

How could they have allowed Itachi to be hurt so badly…?

**-XX-**

Eight years had passed. No one had seen or heard anything about Sasuke during that time. The police had given up on finding him and everyone soon stopped caring and moved on to the next big thing. It seemed that everyone believed that Sasuke would be dead – everyone except for the three Uchiha.

Itachi, ever since that night, had not been on the best terms with either of his uncles. He just could not get over the betrayal he had felt ever since that morning in the kitchen when Madara told him that his parents had been killed.

That was why – on his eighteenth birthday – Itachi did not trust Izuna when the man said that he had gotten him the best birthday present that Itachi could ever wish for.

"What is it?" Itachi asked in his usual cold manner that was reserved solely for his uncles. "I'm busy."

Izuna smiled in a shy manner, not sure how to go about talking to Itachi – he had not been able to hold a proper conversation with the young man since Itachi had been a child.

"You'll have to wait and see." Izuna said. "I promise that you'll love it. It's definitely worth your time."

Itachi raised his eyebrow before turning his gaze back to his group of friends that were sitting at the table in the restaurant, stuffing their faces like pigs. He honestly didn't understand why his uncle was trying so hard to get his attention when Itachi rarely spoke to him anymore. Did Izuna really miss him that bad…?

"Uncle, I hardly see why you're doing this." Itachi said. "I think that you did enough by letting me live my life in unneeded loneliness. Don't make it any worse than you already have."

Izuna frowned. He knew that what Itachi had gone through must have been terrible. "…I'm sorry… I'm trying to make it right again…"

"Yeah, well – don't. Just leave it. Nothing you do will ever make it better again…"

Itachi had turned to leave but Izuna grabbed his shoulder, preventing him from getting anywhere.

"Itachi, please…" Izuna begged. "…We love you so much… You need to trust us… Please… Just this once… If never again…"

"…" Itachi sighed. Izuna had never tried this hard to get his attention before – maybe it really _was _important…

"Kisame." Itachi called to the group that he had just walked away from. One man looked up from the table. "Kisame, I have to leave. I trust you to take care of the others?"

The man grinned and nodded before returning to his food. Itachi just gave the older Uchiha a bored stare until they turned and left the restaurant.

**-XX-**

The drive home was in an uneasy silence. It was even harder when Izuna had lead Itachi to Madara's bedroom after telling him that Itachi needed to be completely silent.

Itachi had no idea what was going on – until the bedroom door was opened and he found Madara sitting on the large king-size bed, nursing what appeared to be a teenage boy – a teenage boy that was covered in bruises and cuts.

Itachi gasped. Could this… be the boy from his dreams…? The brother that he had never met…? He certainly did look like the boy from the photos he had been given… Such spiky hair and wide, onyx eyes…

"S-sasu… ke…?"

The boy flinched at Itachi's voice and buried his face into Madara's chest.

"Itachi, this is your brother…" Madara whispered, petting the boy's back. "Sasuke, this is Itachi – the man that I was telling you about…"

Sasuke glanced up at his uncle with such wide, fearful eyes and a quivering lip. It was enough to break all three of the older Uchihas' hearts. He glanced around at Itachi for only a few seconds before turning back to Madara and hiding his face again.

"He's afraid, Itachi…" Izuna whispered. "He's been beaten pretty badly…"

"I can see that." Itachi stated coldly – did his younger uncle really think that he was in the mood for bullshit?

Sasuke let out a whimper that was barely audible. Itachi watched as Madara wrapped his arms around the fragile boy, whispering softly-spoken words into his ear.

Itachi's heart went back to the times when it would be him in the young boy's position. He remembered the times he would come crawling to Madara and Izuna after a nightmare and he would find himself wrapped in those strong arms with Izuna telling him a story…

"Uncle…" Itachi whispered. His eyes had a far-away, glazed over look in them. Madara looked to his older nephew. "…Uncle, I… I just…"

Itachi didn't know what to say. What _could _he say? His brother that had been missing for eight years had just been found in a seemingly-traumatised state by the two uncles that Itachi was mad at. Yeah, that would make for a _great _conversation…

"Sasuke…" Itachi whispered instead. He frowned at the way Sasuke flinched and tensed impossibly hard in Madara's arms. "Sasuke, I'm your brother… Itachi… I just… want you to know… that I'll always be here for you…"

And with that, Itachi had turned and left to go to his bedroom. He didn't think that he could stand being in that room any longer. He could only hope that in the morning Sasuke would be feeling a little bit stronger and maybe – just maybe – Itachi could have the one thing that he had always wanted but never had – a _brother._


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N This is a short chapter, but it's been so long I thought I should give you **_**something.**_

Itachi woke up the next morning at a little past five. He sighed and sat up in bed. He didn't usually get up until six, but his sleep had been horrible. He kept waking up in cold sweats due to nightmares about his brother.

Itachi got out of bed and walked through the darkness of his bedroom to his dresser. He pulled out clothes for the day and slung them over his shoulder before continuing into the bathroom. He wasn't sure why, but he didn't want to use his personal bathroom. He wanted to use the one that was situated in the hallway.

"So cold…" Itachi muttered to himself as he walked down the freezing hallway. "Stupid Izuna not putting the heater on again…"

Itachi's shower was a short one. He had never been a fan of wasting things, much less water. He dressed in the bathroom before he left to go downstairs into the living room. His footsteps were almost non-existent as he crept along the corridor, not wanting to wake his uncles. However, he was in for a rude surprise when he entered the living room.

Sasuke was lying on the couch, wearing nothing but a shirt that was too large for him. The younger's eyes were wide and staring at the front door, almost as if he were pondering the best way to escape from his current living conditions.

"Sasuke…?" Itachi whispered, not sure how to approach the boy. He didn't want to startle his brother, but such an abused boy would be frightened much easier than a normal one would.

Almost as if Sasuke read his brother's thoughts, his eyes snapped over to Itachi, wide and fearful. His body began to tremble and small whimpers escaped his lips.

"…Have you been here all night…?" Itachi whispered again, not knowing what to say.

"…" Sasuke's trembling increased ten-fold at these words.

Itachi ran a hand through his hair in frustration. He didn't know what he could do about the situation, but what he did know was that he was unwillingly making it worse just by being near the traumatised child.

"…I'll leave you alone, Sasuke…" Itachi spoke in a soft tone before he turned around and went back up the stairs.

However, just before Itachi was completely out of earshot, a small whimper of 'nii-san' caught his attention. A small smile crossed his face, and as much as he wanted to go back and embrace the smaller boy out of joy, he knew better.

**-XX-**

Breakfast didn't go well that same morning. While Madara woke up at six and came straight downstairs to check on Sasuke, Izuna refused to get up until breakfast was ready. But now, as all four Uchiha sat around the breakfast table, the air was thick with tension. With Sasuke's wary eyes scanning his three family members continuously and Izuna's usual aggressive morning attitude, Itachi didn't see much hope for their morning to be problem-free.

"Why don't you eat something, Sasuke?" Madara asked in his soft tone. He wasn't happy watching his nephew just sit at the table.

Sasuke turned to face his eldest uncle with a confused look on his face. Though his lips parted, no words came from them.

Madara sighed. He reached out and grabbed Sasuke's spoon, dipping it into the boy's cereal. Without another word, he lifted said object up to Sasuke's lips. He wasn't surprised when his nephew closed his mouth.

"You've got to eat something, Sasuke…" Madara placed the spoon back down into the bowl.

"Just leave him…" Izuna mumbled as he nibbled on his toast. "Just a waste of time trying to feed him…"

"Izuna…" Madara growled in a warning tone.

It was Itachi who took the most offense to this. "And it's a waste of time trying to get you to care about someone other than yourself! Shut the fuck up, Izuna! You wonder why I hate your guts! You grew up without any sort of hardship in your life – the only thing you had to worry about was whether or not your parents would catch you and brother fucking! How about you try living in his shoes?! Someone like you wouldn't be able to handle it!"

Sasuke started to cry at Itachi's outburst. He screamed loudly when Madara reached out to him, but he didn't protest much when he was pulled onto his uncle's lap and enveloped in a hug.

"Both of you!" Madara hissed as he placed his hands over Sasuke's ears. "Get the hell out if you're going to fight! Go! He doesn't need this!"

Itachi sent a murderous glare at his younger uncle before he stormed off to his room. When he slammed his door closed behind him, he grabbed the closest object and threw it against his wall. He let out a shout of anger as he kicked his wardrobe, angrier than he had been in quite a while.

A few hours had passed and Itachi spent them fuming, breaking whatever he could get his hands on. He ignored the knock at his door and didn't even look when Madara entered the room.

"Are you okay now?" Madara asked in a soft tone.

Itachi shook his head. His hands shook as he turned to glare at his uncle. "I hate your brother. I fucking hate him."

Madara sighed. "I know he's hard to handle, Itachi, but I've spoken to him about it. Sasuke is sleeping on the couch downstairs if you want to see him."

"I can't trust myself to not get angry again if I see Sasuke," Itachi explained.

"It's understandable." Madara moved to sit down on the bed beside his nephew. "I've always wondered something, Itachi; why have you fuelled your anger and hatred towards us for so many years? Why could you forget everything else except for that one thing?"

"I was lonely," Itachi hissed as he narrowed his eyes at his uncle. "You _knew _that. You only – to use your words – _fuelled _my loneliness by denying me a basic human right; to know my own sibling. How was I supposed to feel, Madara?"

Madara sighed. "…We only wanted to protect you and your brother… Please, forgive us, Itachi…"

Itachi shook his head. "I may forgive _you _in time, but I will _never _forgive Izuna…"

Madara nodded after a few seconds. He frowned before he stood up. "I'll leave you to your thoughts."

Itachi couldn't have been more relieved when his uncle left.


	4. Chapter 4

A week had passed by since Madara and Izuna had brought their youngest nephew home. The boy seemed more focused on Itachi than he was on his two uncles, almost as if he had more trust in his brother.

Itachi, in return, showed as much love as he could to Sasuke, but things weren't always that easy; Sasuke was afraid of him, and it seemed that no matter what Itachi did, his brother would be startled by him, one way or another.

Madara noticed this, and tried to help as much as he could.

"Why don't you take him into town?" The oldest male suggested during lunch. "Show him around."

Itachi nodded, knowing that it was a good idea – it all just came down to whether or not Sasuke would cooperate.

"Would you like to come into town with me, Sasuke?" Itachi suggested, resting his dango on the plate. "We can go shopping. Would you like that?"

Sasuke just stared at his plate as he nodded, not feeling comfortable enough to speak. He flinched as his brother stood up, but he made no other movement.

"Come on, Sasuke." Itachi was gentle as he helped his brother to his feet. Sasuke shivered beneath his touch, but Itachi understood; he understood everything. "I'll go pick out some clothing for you to wear. How about that?"

Sasuke nodded again, his eyes staring blankly around the room. He was unsteady as he was guided up the stairs, and he would have fallen had his brother not been supporting him.

It was soundless between them, Itachi not knowing what to say, and Sasuke as silent as ever. Itachi could never blame him; not ever.

Leading Sasuke into the boy's bedroom, Itachi rested him on the bed. He moved towards his sibling's wardrobe, opening it to find some nice clothing for the younger to wear.

"Do you like these?" Itachi held out a short-sleeve black t-shirt and grey shorts. His eyes conveyed his hope at an answer but, as he should have expected, Sasuke just looked down to the bed and picked at the stitching.

Itachi withheld his sigh as he walked back over to the bed, laying the clothes down beside his brother. "Put those on. I'll be right outside, little brother."

Sasuke robotically grabbed the clothing that had been assigned to him. His onyx eyes stared blankly at it for several seconds, waiting until he heard the click of his door before he even considered changing out of his pyjamas.

Itachi had periodically checked his watch as he waited patiently for his sibling to exit the room, but it wasn't until close to fifteen minutes had passed before the younger did.

"Is there anywhere in particular you would like to go, Sasuke?" To be honest, Itachi really wasn't sure if Sasuke had even _been _in town, much less know what kind of shops there were. "Maybe you would like some new clothing?"

The younger male shrugged, as if he didn't care either way. Itachi just nodded to himself, leading the boy downstairs and out of the house.

_**~~XX~~**_

Sasuke didn't seem as bothered by the crowds of people as Itachi had expected; the boy was standing placidly by his side, his small fingers gripping the black jacket the taller male wore. Itachi was relieved for this behaviour; he wasn't sure if he would be able to cope with Sasuke having a breakdown in such a busy place.

"We'll go and have a look at some clothing for you." Itachi knew that Sasuke's wardrobe was scarcely filled; it wouldn't hurt to buy some more material for the small boy. "After that, we can go and finish off our lunch in the food court."

Sasuke's eyes stared blankly around him as he followed Itachi past the hordes of people, shivering when they brushed against him. Part of him knew that his brother wouldn't hurt him, so he trusted the older male to keep him safe here. He knew that Itachi was _different _from the people who he had lived with up until Madara and Izuna took him away; Itachi was _kind. _

"Just in here, Sasuke." Itachi guided the weaker male into the nearest clothing store, leading Sasuke into the men's section. He browsed for a few seconds, his calculating mind piecing together the puzzle that was what would suit Sasuke best.

Eventually, the older male handed his brother a few shirts with matching pants. "Go try these on." Itachi pointed to the changing rooms, watching the abused male walk to them.

As expected, Itachi was waiting for a while before Sasuke came back out, wearing the clothing he had come here in. He held one pile of clothing whilst silently giving the other back to the stronger male, his blank eyes giving no hint as to what he was thinking.

"Are those the ones you like?" A slender finger pointed to the clothing Sasuke held. He smiled as the younger nodded, going to put back the ones he himself had.

Sasuke followed as Itachi led him to the registers, placing the neatly-folded pile on top of the counter. He listened to the soft buzzing of the scanner, observing the way Itachi and the cashier interacted. He ducked his head a few minutes later once the transaction was complete, taking the bag he was handed.

"Would you like some lunch now?" Itachi placed his hand on the small of Sasuke's back as he guided his sibling towards the escalator, taking him upstairs to where the food court was located.

Sasuke shrugged again, as if he didn't care where they went. Part of Itachi knew he _didn't_ care, but he couldn't let that deter him from his mission of trying to help heal Sasuke.

"I think tofu sounds good for now." Itachi smiled down at his younger brother, hoping the boy would eat it. "Let's have tofu for lunch."

Sasuke nodded. He followed automatically and, just a few minutes later once they had sat down at a table with their lunch, poked at it. He sighed softly, not feeling very hungry, but at the same time appreciating the kind gesture from his brother.

"You don't have to eat it if you don't want to." Itachi smiled at Sasuke, trying to bring comfort the damaged male.

Sasuke nodded, pushing the plate away. He turned to watch the people around him warily, curious about what they were doing with their lives. He hadn't known much other than abuse, but Itachi was quickly teaching him that there was more to life than just that.

The boy couldn't be entirely sure, but he felt as if he was forming a bond with Itachi, one that he could see many of the people around them shared with someone else.

Whether or not he was, Sasuke could see that Itachi was trying to form one with him.


	5. Chapter 5

**In having lost motivation for a lot of these old fics, I'm trying to finish them off as soon as I can for a number of reasons. **

In the few months that Sasuke had spent with Itachi, he had come to learn that Itachi was so vastly different from the people he had spent the first half of his life with, it was hard _not _to feel safe with him.

Sasuke spent all his time with Itachi, sometimes just sitting quietly on the older male's bed while Itachi read a book, or other times talking in a soft, barely audible voice as they shopped together.

Now, the two brothers were sitting in the living room of their home together, a movie playing on the widescreen TV. Sasuke's head rested against Itachi's shoulder, his onyx eyes watching the movie curiously.

"What _does _it mean to love someone, Itachi...?" Sasuke tilted his head, looking up at his brother.

Itachi smiled down at his sibling. "What do you think it means?"

The boy didn't even have to think about this question, knowing what it meant to him. "To feel safe with someone, and not have to worry about them hurting you."

Itachi's smile widened. "Why do you think that?"

"Because I love you, and you're so gentle with me, Itachi. You've never hurt me, and you only ever try and make me happy." Sasuke offered a shy smile.

"That's one way of looking at love," Itachi offered. "I don't think there's any right way to define love; whatever you feel is the right way is _your _way of loving."

"What about you?" the younger asked.

"Well, I think love is when you want to protect someone and give them all of you. When you just want to see them smile and the thought of them hurting makes _you _hurt. But most of all, when you'd do absolutely _anything _to ensure their happiness. That's what I think love is."

"I like it." Sasuke smiled. He moved onto his brother's lap, resting his head against the older male's forehead.

Itachi embraced his brother, holding him close. He knew there was still a ways to go with Sasuke's recovery, but no matter what, he'd be there every step of the way.


End file.
